Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 7: 33 "The soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noon it has dulled; by evening he has begun to think of home."

As a coach, I am very frequently involved in setting goals and tracking performance. I can assure you; a goal has a morning. Whenever anyone sets a goal, their spirit is keen, they're going to win, for sure.

Then by noon, well, the spirit is just not so keen anymore, it begins to dull. All goals come with challenge and opposition. When setting goals, few visualize this challenge. We seem always surprised by its arrival, every time, again and again.

Here's an example. My goal is to call each and every one of these 100 people on my list. In the morning, I'm pumped up to make every call. By noon, with 23 completed, 21 were just messages or no answers, and the two that answered were rude, my spirit begins to dull.

How much have I shared with you about my hardcore sales training in the 1980s? I get to call it "classical" training now, ha! Back then, we knew we were old school, absolutely. Can you say Glengarry Glen Ross? Coffee is for closers! I drink coffee. Hey, I'm drinking a cup now!

My wonderful boss, back then, fellow name of Norman Hallett - he and I are friends on Facebook and connected at LinkedIn to this day - had a fantastic policy. On track for the sales trip, go home. Not on track? Work Tuesday evening. It was awesome.

Saturday mornings were always optional, no one had to come in. But bagels and fresh fruit, mini omelets, the best orange juice you ever tasted, an amazing brunch buffet was always there, and you really didn't want to miss it, and here's why.

More deals were closed on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings than in any other time block during the week. The top performers ALWAYS showed up for both sessions, long after they'd qualified for the sales trip.

Norman is a true leader. He knows when his soldiers' spirits are keen, dull, or they're thinking about home. He knew how to help each one of us master the art, prospect, build relationship, close deals, keep disciplined, keep our spirits high.

Here’s one of my all-time favorite trophies. I’d never have won it if Norman hadn’t been there to build my spirit back up and make it keen again.

Just this much more on that. Norman took our team (and spouses) to the South of France, and to London, all expenses paid, first class in every way. We stayed at the Ritz, in Nice, one of the most famous hotels in the world. I would never have stayed there otherwise.

Many was the long night of sleepless work in the decades that have followed, when that memory put my spirit back into me, made keen by the joy. A leader has to give his followers their joy, he must keep their spirits keen.

We in the #MAGA movement face the same morning of keenness, afternoon of dullness and evening when thoughts of home are all we have left. Four years is a long time, and we've had much of the spirit knocked out of us. What is 'home' in our case?

For me personally, it is my fading recollection of life before activism. I dare NOT count the hours of the day, each day, so invested. I must maintain some denial and still try to think of myself as a normal person. I'm not. Home was the old days of normality.

Alright, I was never normal. But, in my own strange way, I was still kind of a normal person. I didn't spend hours of every day engaged in political activism of any form whatever. When my spirit is most dull, I'd love to get all the hours back. That's my longing for home.

So, how about you? Do you have goals, battles to fight, where your spirit is high at first, ready to conquer the world...until the afternoon arrives with its difficulty and opposition? Do you have, at night, a home you long for, forgetting your mission?

Once again, below, I'll share what always keeps me going, making my spirit keen again after it dulls and fades. It is the 10 tenets of our movement. Looking deeply into any one of them, I remember our mission, and brighten up. Here they are:

1. Remember The Forgotten Americans
2. Rule Of Law
3. American Jobs
4. Quality Of Life For Every American
5. Heal Our Cities
6. Build The Wall
7. Make America Wealthy Again
8. Make America Strong Again
9. Make America Safe Again
10. Make America Great Again

Just one look, that's all it takes. I can pick any one of them, ask myself about the truth of our nation today, and reestablish my fighting will. Any one of them would be a mission worthy of an entire life's effort. Any one of them.

Please, fellow patriots, do share. What's your mission? What are you doing to prosecute it? How's your fighting spirit. And how can the rest of us, your friends, be of help. Don't be shy!

186 verses completed, 236 to go.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21. You'll find the digital table of contents for this series, there. Please retweet each entry you enjoy.